Dress-shield.



No. 632,883. Patented Sept. l2, I899. A. C. SQUIRES.

DRESS SHIELD.

(Application filed Mar. 19, 1898.)

(No Model.)

ATTORNEY m: NQRFHi FEYERS co, womumo. WASHINGTON. law 0.

UNITED STATES PATENT FF-ICEe' ARTHUR C. SQUIBES, OF NE? YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE I. B. KLEINERT RUBBER COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

DRESS-SHIELD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 632,883, dated September 12, 1899.

Application filed March 19,1898. Serial No. 674,487. (No model.)

To all whmn it ntcty concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. Sonlnns, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dress Shields, of which the following is a specification.

The improvement in dress-shields, forming the subject of this invention, consists in so embossing the impervious elastic material used in their manufacture as to form a series of independent air cells or chambers projecting from the flat face of the material with their openings in plane with and surrounded by the fiat surface of the opposite side of the material. These air cells or chambers by reason of the elasticityof theirinclosing walls are contractible, the movements of the wearer causing them to be alternately compressed and relieved of pressure, which discharges the air contained in them and draws in fresh supplies of air at right angles to the surfaces of the shield and through the fabric or dress adjacent to the shield, thus making the shields selfventilating and causing a free circulation of air to the parts of the dress and body to which they are applied. These disturbing cells or chambers may be of any desired form and arranged over the surface of the dress-shield in any manner; but they are preferably arranged within a margin, so as to leave the surrounding parts of ,the shield fiat, thus forming a border to the embossing, and this flat border facilitates the attachment to 3 5 the shield of a fabric covering when such is used in the manufacture of the dress-shields.

Insignia and words in connection with uniformly-shaped air-cells, or alone, may be formed by an embossing process in the im- 0 pervious elastic material of dress-shields, so as to constitute contractible air cells or chambers adapted to perform the ventilating f unctions of uniformly-shaped cells. It is desirable to emboss the impervious material, which 4 5 is preferably india-rubber, in the green or uncured condition and afterward submit it to a setting or vulcanizin g process to impart to its body and to the walls of the cells the desired permanent elasticity.

5o Dress-shields made according to this invention besides being self-ventilating, which will add to their lasting qn ality by preventing the deterioration due to the heat and moisture of the body, are by reason of the projecting aircells much softer and more comfortable to wear than those heretofore made.

The accompanying drawings illustrate dress-shields embossed according to my invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a dress-shield with parts removed to more clearly show its construction. Fig. 2 is a section of the same, taken on line 2 2. Fig. 3 is a section of a part of dress-shield, illustrating the distortion of the air-cells; and Figs. 4 and 5 are parts of dress-shield, showing different forms of contractible air-cells.

As shown at Fig. l, the impervious elastic material a of the dress-shield is formed in two parts connected together attheir uppercurved edges in the usual manner. The air cells or chambers b b are by means of suitably-formed embossing-dies pressed in the material while it is in condition to take a set when distorted and before being submitted to vulcanization or other setting or curing process. The walls of these cells are by the setting process rendered elastic and readily assume their given form after "being distorted. These air-cells b b are in this view semispherical in shape and are arranged over the body of the material ctso as to leave a fiat marginal border 0, surrounding them on the two parts of the shield. The first broken section of Fig. l, with the covering removed, shows the outside of the contractible cells I) on the upper part of the impervious elastic material, and the second broken section shows the inside of the under part of the shield and the interior of the cells I). The shape of these air-cells is immaterial, their essential property being contractibility and capability of resuming their original shape after being distorted or contracted. In Fig. 4: the contractible cells cl (1 are shown hexagonal in shape, arranged as the cells of honeycomb. In Fig. 5 the contractible cells 6 care rectangular in shape, diagonally arranged or staggered over the surface of the material.

.The impervious elastic material generally used in the manufacture of dress-shields is india-rubber formed into sheets of suitable thickness, sometimes combined with a suitable fabric, as stockinet, to form acoinpound impervious or waterproof sheet, and this compound material may also be embossed, according to myinvention to form contractible aircells.

In the completed shield'shown at Figs. 1 and 2 the impervious elastic sheet a, embossed as before described, is covered with a suitable textile fabric f, having the same shape as the sheet a, the two being secured together at their edges by means of the binding-tape g, which is shown as being sewed thereon, the flat marginal border of the sheet material a, surrounding the contractible air-cells b 1), allowing the sewing together of these pieces to be easily and readily performed, which operation would be difficult of accomplishment if the elastic material a were embossed or otherwise distorted from the flat condition at the edges of the shield.

The manner in which the contractible aircells act when the dressshield is in use and subjected to the movements of the wearer is by the view Fig. 3 endeavored to be illustrated. The-cells Z) by pressure become contracted or flattened, as shown at b, and by the resilience of their walls are readily ex- 0 ing action, continually discharges air from and draws air into the cells through the fabric or clothes, (shown in this view by the lines it h in contact with the shield,) at right angles to the faces of the shield.

I claim as my invention A dress-shield comprising two connected flat sides of impervious elastic material having formed at intervals throughout their surfaces separated depressions or cells, independent of one another, the opening of each depression or cell being entirelysurrounded by the adjacent portions of the fiat surfaces of the sides of the shield.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 16th day of March, A. D. 1898.

ARTHUR G. SQUIRES.

Witnesses:

ALFRED SHEDLocK, WILLIAM F. CLARK. 

